Two entire language teams have been shut out of the Steam Translation Servers, one for almost half a - Polidicks

I'm still unsure of how much of this will qualify as news, but it is definitely newsworthy. [quote]Hello /r/Steam. I’m Victor - or \Victor, if you prefer - and I’m a translator and ex-moderator from the Spanish Steam Translation Server team (STS). For those who don’t know, the STS is a place where Steam relies heavily on community translators to make localizations for Steam and Valve games such as TF2, Dota 2, and CS:GO. I’m speaking on behalf of my team - though they’ll probably show up on this thread later - and I’m here to bring up a situation that affects a big part of the community: Valve employee T[removed], also known for being the Head Admin and creator of STS, has been harassing, lying, discrediting, creating an oppressive, intimidating environment, and overall doing questionable things that have finished with several mods being kicked, a strike of the whole Spanish team that’s still going, and another Valve employee being illegally fired for complaining about these unlawful activities. We would like to share the story with you.[/quote] [url]https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/44yl24/how_a_whole_language_of_the_steam_translation/[/url] [quote]My name is Riccardo, known online as Oktober, and I used to be one of the moderators maintaining the Italian language on STS last year. In this message I'll be speaking on behalf of the rest of the language's members (Franco Franchetti, Bloody Skull, and Alixey) that received the same unfair treatment as I back in 2015. Upon reading this story, the Italian team and I felt encouraged to share our own experience with Mr. T[removed], that happened roughly half a year before theirs. [/quote] [url]https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/44yl24/how_a_whole_language_of_the_steam_translation/cztw5id[/url] Mind you, people have also [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/44yl24/how_a_whole_language_of_the_steam_translation/cztw1gi]chimed in[/url] with [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/44yl24/how_a_whole_language_of_the_steam_translation/cztx2f9]positive[/url] [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/44yl24/how_a_whole_language_of_the_steam_translation/cztzp0r]comments[/url] about this T[removed] guy, so it's a bit of a "he said, she said" situation. Still pretty screwed up.

Yeah, this is a mess so far. I think Valve might respond here, since they named the employee.

[quote]. Since we weren’t receiving any answers from Torsten, we the Spanish team of STS as a whole started a strike, and stopped all moderations and translations inside STS. Then, just a few days later, we got news from Ambra’s SO that she had been illegally fired from Valve for whistleblowing. Make your own conclusions[/quote] You're right, it's a very one sided story. But if people are being fired from paying jobs at valve that's super suspicious.

Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE] I'm not sure if this whole thing is a joke so I'm gonna have to take it at face value. As a native speaker of the English language I want you to know that you're being completely pants-on-head ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with learning a new language and in an ideal world we would all know one core language as a society and I think we are slowly moving that way. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with having translations of material into different languages.

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE] believe it or not thats actually the most ignorant post ive read on this forum rofl

[QUOTE=Damoman;49708011]You're right, it's a very one sided story. But if people are being fired from paying jobs at valve that's super suspicious.[/QUOTE] I know Valve is essentially employee driven, but can the employees fire people too? I've heard it claimed, but I'm skeptical of that claim. But if someone went against the clique, I could see them getting canned on the spot, like these people claim has happened.

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE] The arrogance of this post is like a wild fire Too lazy to learn english? What made english earth's native language?

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131] To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? [/QUOTE] yeah because learning english is just as easy as not being lazy and not being ignorant right

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE] You're just upset you didn't get free items for translating.

[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;49708173]I know Valve is essentially employee driven, but can the employees fire people too? I've heard it claimed, but I'm skeptical of that claim. But if someone went against the clique, I could see them getting canned on the spot, like these people claim has happened.[/QUOTE] There's Human Resources who can step in and fire you conventionally, like what happened here. That usually only happens when a dev isn't learning from mistakes, a job has to be cut, or corporate drama happens. But I really doubt the Spanish admin was (illegally) fired for whistleblowing, just because HR is in on some conspiracy. There's definitely more sides to this. [editline]a[/editline] [QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;49708223]They're alleging illegal activity. Shouldn't they be lawyering up instead of going to Reddit?[/QUOTE] OP says that they never signed a contract/were paid, so they're not Valve employees and probably wouldn't have a case. They want 'community justice'.

They're alleging illegal activity. Shouldn't they be lawyering up instead of going to Reddit?

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;49708223]They're alleging illegal activity. Shouldn't they be lawyering up instead of going to Reddit?[/QUOTE] If something illegal happened to wasn't to them. They just want reasonable communication with the Valve person in charge of the STS. Something that seems you can't get out of Valve short of physically twisting an employees arm.

[QUOTE=J!NX;49708182]The arrogance of this post is like a wild fire Too lazy to learn english? What made english earth's native language?[/QUOTE] The people who conquered about half the world speaking it, and the world's largest economic powerhouse speaking it. While what he said was dumb, English is the international language of trade, and is definitely an asset to know. If I were to pick the most important language on Earth, it'd be English.

[QUOTE=FFStudios;49708184]yeah because learning english is just as easy as not being lazy and not being ignorant right[/QUOTE] I know it takes some work to get it running, but the issue is, from what I have seen from almost everyone I have ever met here, that people just don't give one about learning it because they find it useless. [QUOTE=residntevl;49708190]You're just upset you didn't get free items for translating.[/QUOTE] I did not know you were given things for this. Anyhow I don't care, I never had in mind translating as a "job".

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE] If you ever get a instruction manual that is in Chinese and your internet won't connect to Google Translate, I'll laugh at you

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE] I agree. It's about time that the world as a whole decided to learn the single most-used language in the world. Our civilization is becoming increasingly connected and it's the duty of the global community to finally band together under the largest tongue on Earth. DaWhatTheFox, you should stop being lazy and learn Mandarin already.

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE] Don't see why it's there job to learn English, its Valves job to translate.

So to make a comment that's not part of the [I]utterly inane and idiotic discussion over whether or not learning English is mandatory as a world citizen,[/I] I want to say that although these members of the Steam Translation Service probably have some legitimate grievances, they aren't making a very strong or convincing case. Yes, while it might be that by certain metrics the Translation service has declined, I think that's not necessarily the most informative way to look at things. After all, the numbers can't always go up and there can be poor periods of performance. Also, the absence of actual evidence of what was said and for what purposes does make this an issue of hearsay. While it's fine, perhaps, to take it that they are not lying it can also be that they themselves have had very serious personal misunderstandings with the Torsten person that are definitely coloring their perspectives. Not to name anyone, but I have talked and dealt with at least one person involved on the accusing side and will say they have 1) an exceptionally large ego in regards to what it 'means' to be a translator and what privileges they should receive and 2) have a track record of being incredibly biased, particularly against people they've had personal disputes against. So, from my perspective, there might be some real issue but I don't think it's quite an insidious, cloak and dagger affair. It's probably something like serious professional misunderstandings among people who are by no means professional.

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE] Do you think people are ignorant and lazy for not learning Mandarin, it is, after all, the most widely used language in the world, ahead of Spanish in 2 and English in 3, and it is the native language of probably the largest country in the world in terms of trade.

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE] Somehow I've read dumber.

at face value this sounds really terrible then again, there's no info from the other side so i'm not sure what to think. if valve really does come out as guilty in the future, it won't be pretty for them. it's been a real rocky road for them as of late and i feel this is just the one big drop of many [QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE]if you were trying to bait and derail the thread entirely then you did it, good job

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE] jesus fuck, take your head out your ass and go outside. If someone who doesn't know english ask you to translate something, you go and tell them to fuck off?

[QUOTE=J!NX;49708182]The arrogance of this post is like a wild fire Too lazy to learn english? What made english earth's native language?[/QUOTE] The Brown Bess and the Internet But seriously, its shocking valve has been able to do so much from volunteer work, other studios would have to pay to get translations and localizations done

You people are incredibly credulous if you believe that a company, a corporation, cannot fire people illegaly. It amazes me how guillible you are. The point that is being discussed in that thread is that Valve used these translators for free for years, and then they were kicked in the ass because they pissed off one member of the clique. AS for the employee being fired illegally, have the decency to educate yourself before pulling things out of your @ss. Whenever an employee reports something illegal, the company has the duty to launch an investigation instead of retaliating against the employee. [editline]10th February 2016[/editline] and, by the way, I have no sympathy for the people who worked for free and translated for free for years and then got kicked in the ass. They got what they deserved for trusting Valve, a company which is notorious for shady things.

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131] To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english?.[/QUOTE] You're fond of Nintendo stuff so let's replace "english" with "japanese" and read your post again.

I remember being apart of the STS project when the Pirate Language was fairly active, sure it was a for fun project but, some of the other language team members were extremely hostile towards anyone apart of the Pirate language. I ended up quitting (or well stopped logging in) because of the whole drama-fest that occured when they gave out freebie's for teams that completed all of their translations of the Dota 2 client before it's public beta or second international, I can't exactly remember the deadline conditions. Plus I joined when they dropped the announcement that Pirate was not being added to the steam client, despite everyones hard work. It's a real shame because I had fun doing it aswell, it allowed me to experiment with different approaches to presenting a specific phrase. And there was a lot of accusations of moderators circle-jerking each others string submissions while trying to keep non-moderators out of having their strings approved, even when correcting errors and mistakes, even I was accused a few times as a moderator, simply because I didn't leave a note or I didn't explain enough on what I found wrong with it. But I don't know, the whole thing is a mess, as for Thor, he's the only Valve employee I've been able to speak to and I don't believe that he's in any form what they're describing him as.

[QUOTE=SenhorCreeper;49708346]If you ever get a instruction manual that is in Chinese and your internet won't connect to Google Translate, I'll laugh at you[/QUOTE] If i get a printed instruction manual i won't even be able to enter the characters anyways If it's a PDF, thats another story of course.

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet.[/QUOTE] Mandarin Chinese and Spanish are both more widely spoken than English but I get your point and since Spain is a part of Europe maybe the government should try harder to teach everyone English. I don't think translations are just there to cater to lazy people though.

[QUOTE=DaWhatTheFox;49708131]Gee, I bet a good chunk of people are feeling oh-so-lost, at least for now I'd suppose. To be honest what even is the point of having such translations, besides of for catering to people who are too ignorant or lazy to learn english? But hey, perhaps I simply do not care about it possibly getting shut down because I have always strongly disagreed, let's just say, with this custom most spaniards have had, for long enough to become fond of it, of staying ignorant about learning the most widely used language in this darn planet. But yeah, what a shame.[/QUOTE] Yeah I bet you've only ever watched\read\enjoyed spanish-made content until you learned english, have you?